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The International Canoe Federation fully supports the International Olympic Committee’s decision to hold the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics in July and August next year (2021).

The IOC and Japanese organisers announced today the Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8 next year, while the Paralympics will be held between August 24 an d September 5.

The ICF said it was the fairest outcome for the athletes and officials, who will hopefully now get the chance to undertake a full pre-Games preparation.

“We will continue to work with the International Olympic Committee to finalise the qualification events and dates for those quotas that remain unallocated,” ICF secretary general, Simon Toulson, said.

“The IOC has already announced that all quotas that have been allocated already will remain valid for next year’s Games, a decision we fully support.

“Obviously the forced postponement of this year’s Games has caused problems and disruption for our athletes and the broader canoeing community, but everyone is aware there are people all over the world facing far greater challenges than we, as an international sport, are facing.”

Mr Toulson said the new dates for the Olympics and Paralympics will clash with several events on the ICF’s 2021 competition calendar, but said the federation will work with the host organisers to find new dates that cause the least inconvenience to everyone involved.

“Moving events like the Olympics and Paralympics is never going to be easy, and it will provide headaches for all involved,” Mr Toulson said.

“We are very fortunate in the ICF to have some fantastically loyal and professional host venues, and we will work very hard to make sure any necessary changes occur with as little inconvenience as possible to these important partners.

“As always, the health and safety of everyone involved in the international canoeing community will be our priority. We thank everyone for their patience so far.”

The ICF is in regular contact with the IOC during this difficult time, and will continue to provide updates as soon as they come to hand.